Meet India, Inc.'s goddesses of money

Vikas Kumar, TNNMay 6, 2005, 12.34AM IST

As a business reader, you must have by now had a surfeit of stories celebrating how women have broken into and staked their rightful claim in a male-dominated corporate world. This story isn't about past successes — there's no dearth of role models in the world of high finance and the proverbial glass ceiling has been breached to a large extent. The rise to prominence of women like HSBC's Naina Lal

Kidwai, ICICI Bank's Renuka Ramnath and Standard Chartered Bank's Shalini Warrier has provided hope and inspiration to women that it could only be a matter of time before gender issues recede into the background and grit and merit become the parameters by which performance is judged for women as well.

And it appears we are almost getting there. Corporate Dossier met five women who have made their presence felt in the world of finance to find out what makes them tick. They represent the next breed of professionals who are poised to take charge as the high priestesses of Indian and even global finance.

The list is by no means exhaustive, and there could be many more waiting quietly to make their next big leap.

Having gone through their own share of trials by fire, many of them shared during their conversations with Corporate Dossier, their experiences and perspectives. One thing comes out clear — while things have changed, a lot more still needs changing.

To begin with, mindsets — of colleagues, of bosses, and even clients — continue to be steeped in gender stereotypes. Take the experiences of Sutapa Banerjee, who's now head of private banking at ABN Amro.

When she was branch manager at ABN Amro's Jodhpur Park, Calcutta branch, customers would often come to her asking "Where's the branch manager?" They just couldn't accept the fact that a young woman could be in a position of such responsibility.

Bosses, on the other hand, can be more understanding, but the biggest challenge comes from one's peers. Finance is one of the most competitive of industries, all over the world, and has always attracted some of the best talent from the top business schools.

"You cannot wish away the sense of 'Are you good enough?' in any conversation" says Ashu Suyash, head of business at Fidelity Fund Management, India. "For the first five years you get reminded of it, and then you start getting noticed for your work."

Indeed, a career in finance can be quite a rat race, a high-stakes game where the men make no special allowances for female colleagues. Says Manisha Girotra, chairperson, UBS India, "Internally you have to prove yourself much more. People assume you are going to be around for 2-3 years and then get married and move on."

As a new legion of ambitious women make it to the top of the finance world, they will create a culture where other talented women can thrive.

This has already happened in organisations like ICICI Bank and now HSBC seems to be following suit.

Natasha Patel, head of global payments and cash management at HSBC believes it's about attitude that starts from within. "It has more to do with yourself and how you wanted to be treated."

And that is a trait she sees emerging in the new crop of women professionals: "When I'm recruiting, I find that women of today are far more aggressive and direct about what they want."

Against all odds, each of the five women we interviewed for this story has managed to strike a balance between work and family.

Not only are they raising young children, they are also managing to make time for other passions outside of work, from Reiki to mountaineering, from collecting books to watching art house movies.

Besides being top-notch bankers, each of them is a very interesting person. Turn the page to meet them. Secure dreams: Nithya Easwaran, Head-Structured Finance, Citibank

If it hadn't been for finance, Nithya Easwaran says she would've been in some tech firm in the US "probably inventing something". The closest thing to 'inventing' that her present job as head of the securitisation business at Citigroup allows her is coming up with new business ideas, and then implementing them.

An electronics engineer from VJTI, Mumbai, and an MBA from IIM Lucknow, Easwaran feels her engineering background gives her the ability to think logically: "In hindsight it was an excellent choice." Easwaran, 31, began her career with ICICI where she spent four years before moving to Citigroup in 2000.

During her stint with ICICI she worked closely with Renuka Ramnath, whom she describes as "a very strong personality. She influenced me extremely positively during the early years of my career."

Her exposure to structured finance happened then: "Those days the market for structured products was practically non-existent." This prepared her for her next role — setting up a securitisation desk at Citigroup.